Introducing the concept of rhythm in our lives is a beautiful way to both embrace time for what you value and allow for flow amongst the daily regimen that is household chores and errands. The rhythm of your family will look different to any other. You may be at home or working, value different activities in your down time and place different priorities on household duties. However, I thought I would share what is currently working for our family in hopes it might inspire you to embrace something similar – in an adaption that meets the needs of your family.
I am trying to distance our lives from the rigidity of classic routine charts and instead embrace rhythm. There are however certain tasks and chores that need to be completed daily within our home. Things such as getting dressed for school and tidying at the end of the day. Some tasks are out of necessity such as eating and others are for the betterment of our home and consequential emotional wellbeing. Our home and family relationships feel much more harmonious when our home is tidy. This may not be a priority for everyone, but a simple tidy and declutter at the end of the day is an essential part of our daily rhythm.
This is our current means of displaying our daily rhythm. Here is how I made it:
I simply used watercolour paints to create circles on watercolour paper. Once this dried, I wrote and illustrated images of both the daily tasks that need to be completed (for example, getting dressed) the main activities for the day (for example, school) and the overarching theme for the day that instills a sense of flow and serves as a reminder to slow (for example, baking).
I then cut out each circle and placed a magnetic sticker on the back. These are placed onto our fridge and moved about dependant on what each day looks like. I did it this way for a number of reasons, the act moving the circle provides a tangible sense of the task being completed for my children. I set the rhythm for the day, but they move the circles back at the end of the day, thus giving them some ownership for the process too.
Having interchangeable circles is also a better reflection of our life. We don’t stick to the same tasks each day, some days weigh more heavily on spending time at school or staying home to complete chores. The flexibility of our rhythmic ‘timetable’ is a reflection of the flexibility I seek to have in our daily lives.
Hannah x
